Discovering Old Huddersfield

At the corner of New Street and High Street the Commercial public house, sometimes called an inn, sometimes an hotel, has occupied this site since the early nineteenth century and for well over a hundred years the building incorporated a tobacconist's shop. This had a cross corner entrance and shop windows in New Street and High Street. Of course, during the 1970s and 80s tobacco fell from grace and tobacconist's shops became an increasingly rare sight countrywide. When Hobson and Son, the last proprietors here closed, the opportunity was taken to extend the ground floor of the Commercial. So skilful was the rebuilding that, today, the only clue to the one-time presence of the shop is a row of holes where the fascia board was suspended.